The History of Barnet FC
is a long and interesting tale of a club that has seen
some highs and more than its fair share of lows in its
100 plus years existence. So long, in fact, that this
history will be spread out over several pages. This is
the second section, charting the story from 1902 to 1914.

We would be grateful to
anyone who can add to anything written here. Apart from
pointing out any inaccuracies, we would be pleased to
receive contributions so that this history can be
"fleshed out" even more. For that reason, the
details on this page are likely to be changed as more
information is unearthed.

In 1903 Barnet Avenue
changed their name to Barnet FC (but hereafter referred
to as Barnet (Avenue) FC to avoid confusion) and joined
the Amateur Football Association. This was a separate
association to the FA - the two associations merged after
the Great War (or First World War).

However, according to
The Sunday Times Illustrated History of Football (Octopus
Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0 600 59593 5) the Amateur
Football Association was not founded until 1906/07, by
the Middlesex, Surrey and London associations. This was
over disagreements about having to accept professional
sides. So it seems that Barnet (Avenue) FC may not have
joined the Amateur Association until this date.

Alston Works FC

Around the same time, Mr
Alfred Shilling, General Manager of the Dental
Manufacturing Company Ltd, formed a Football and Athletic
Club for his staff. The football club went by the name of
Alston Works FC.

Playing in what is now
called Barnet Lane (It was called Totteridge Lane then -
I am trying to find the exact location), they spent a few
seasons in the North Middlesex League, and then won
election to the London League in 1906. They ceased to be
a works club, became a town club and changed their name
to Barnet Alston FC.

Their first season
(06/07) was a success, winning eleven of their fourteen
games, losing none, only conceding seven goals and
scoring 45. Needless to say, they were champions and were
promoted to the Premier Division of the London League.

On 7 September 1907,
Barnet Alston vacated their Barnet (Totteridge) Lane
ground and moved to Underhill. Their first match there
was against Crystal Palace (don't know the score, I'm
afraid). Their first season in the London Premier League
was a tough one, as it was a mainly professional league,
including the Woolwich Arsenal Reserves.

This reserve side had
three full internationals (England, presumably) by the
names of J Ashcroft, Tim Coleman and Bert Freeman. The
first season (07/08) saw fourteen points from eleven
games.

The next season (08/09)
saw only eleven points from eleven games. However, they
had a good run in the FA Cup and were eventually drawn at
Underhill to Exeter City. Exeter tried bribing Barnet
Alston to play at Exeter (a practice banned by the FA at
a later date) but they declined the offer. Exeter brought
a strong side, which featured international players, and
they beat Barnet Alston 3-0. Barnet Alston went on to win
the Herts Charity Cup that season.

Barnet FC

The above two paragraphs
were taken from the Diamond Jubilee History, published in
1948. It makes no mention of this next bit.

Other sources, including
the history on the official site, say that Barnet FC
rejoined the London League in 1905. They merged with
Alston Works in 1906 and re-named themselves Barnet
Alston FC.

They were founder
members of the Athenian League, which had been set up
largely through the efforts of two Barnetonians, Mr Edwin
Jones and Mr Harold Chapman. It looked for a while that
they would finish as champions, but finished runners-up.
They also won the Herts Charity Cup.

In the 1913/14 season
they won the Herts Charity Cup again, and finished sixth
in the league. It would be five long years before another
ball was kicked.

Notes

These are just some
personal thoughts on this tangled web of the early
history. The above has been almost completely rewritten
after visiting the museum in Wood Street. I only made
copies of a few of the documents they hold there, and
intend on visiting again soon. I would just like to say
thank you to the volunteers who work there for all their
help they gave me during my visit. The main source of the
above is the first two chapters of the Diamond Jubilee
History, which was published in 1948 - Barnet's 60th
anniversary.

I am not sure where the
date of 1888 comes from. The club that existed from that
date disbanded in 1901, and I can find no reference in
these chapters of it being reformed.

The club that took over
Underhill in 1907 was Barnet Alston, who had renamed
themselves (from Alston Works FC) to underline the fact
that they had gone from being a "works" club to
a "town" club. This meant they could use
players who did not work for the company that had
hitherto run it. I presume they also became independent
of the company.

This would explain the
curious name change when they merged with Barnet (Avenue)
FC in 1912. The usual history is that a club called
Barnet FC merged with Alston Works FC in 1906, with the
resulting club being called Barnet Alston FC. This club
later merged with Barnet (Avenue) FC, with the resulting
club being called Barnet and Alston FC - which does not
include the old Avenue's name at all.

However, if there was no
such merger between Barnet FC and Alston Works FC in 1906
(the Barnet Alston name change being explained a couple
of paragraphs ago) and Barnet (Avenue) FC were called
just Barnet FC (as explained at the top of this page)
then there were two clubs - one called Barnet Alston FC,
the other called Barnet FC. The resulting name after
merging - Barnet and Alston FC, seems to be the most
sensible name that the two clubs could have arrived at.

There is not much
history of Barnet (Avenue) FC. They were definitely
around in 1898, and seem to predate the Alston Works
side. The fact that they changed their name to Barnet FC
when the original folded in 1901 may have caused some
confusion.

One thing is clear. The
club has considered 1888 to be its founding date for many
decades. The Diamond Jubilee History would not have been
called as such in 1948, otherwise. It is about as
mysterious as why our capacity is smaller than Dover's!

I intend to look into
this further, and would be grateful for any light anyone
can shed on this.